Gansler files for governor, pushes Saturday voting

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler formally filed paperwork to run for governor Thursday, using the occasion to lament low voter turnout and push a new proposal to expand early voting to include the Saturday before elections.

In a web video released Thursday morning, Gansler and Ivey said that modern life makes it difficult to get to the polls on Election Day and the state should let people vote on the weekend immediately before it.

“On this historic day, we’re reminded that there’s still work to be done to protect voting rights here in Maryland,” said Gansler, a Montgomery County Democrat and former state’s attorney.

The state’s current early voting period runs from Thursday to Thursday the week before an election, which includes a Saturday but not the one immediately preceding an the election.

“Voting needs to be easier, not harder,” said Ivey, a Prince George’s County Democrat. “It’s a right, and we want to make sure you have a right to exercise that right.”

Gansler is the final declared candidate to file for the hotly contested Democratic primary race to succeed term-limited Gov. Martin O’Malley.

For Teresa DeShields, the 75-cent-an-hour increase in the state's minimum wage that takes effect Thursday means she'll finally be able to afford a phone line in her Cedonia home to stay in touch with her family in Delaware.

Advocates for programs spending state dollars on stem cell research or investment in technology companies were nervous about what Gov. Larry Hogan's budget would hold for them, given warnings of "strong medicine" to cure fiscal woes.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan pledged bipartisanship and offered a conciliatory tone during his snowy inauguration Wednesday, promising "to create an environment of trust and cooperation, where the best ideas rise to the top based on upon their merit."